HIS HOUSE WAS ROBBED TWICE

When Mr. L.W.’s house was robbed for the second time he decided to have his Mezuzos checked. The Mezuza he had affixed to his front door appears below. A quick glance at it and you will see at once why it offered no protection.

When I told this story to Rabbi David Shiinborsky, an expert sofer himself, he was quick to tell me that the very same thing happened to him. His story goes as follows:

“When I rented my second-floor office on 13th Avenue and 48th St. I had a robbery the very first Shabbos, I immediately put in an alarm system, gates on the windows and, of course – being a sofer -I also checked the Mezuzos but found nothing wrong. The previous owners told me that they had also had a series of robberies at the store. Unfortunately, the next week my office was broken into again, and this time the thieves even broke the alarm box. I then realized that in my haste to check the Mezuzos I had forgotten to check the very outside door. Sure enough, when I now checked that one I found it was posul. I replaced it at once. Boruch Hashem, more than a year has passed, and we’ve had no more break-ins.” Here is the Mezuzah.